Spacey/Robert B: Can you guys post up a few examples of tones you like that you got out of this? I know I can just download the demo and find out for myself but I usually like to hear an example before I do things like that and there are none to be found on that site.
Reece: The ABG stuff is incredible in my opinion. Nothing I've tried tops it as far as amp sims go and the versions *I* have from ABG. I have no problems with it using it in Sonar 64 as long as I use J-Bridge. The plugs are not ported for x64 at this time, but no issues at all with J-Bridge. The only issue I DO have (which may be fixed in some of the later ABG releases) is, my favorite version "Head Case" beta 1.01, has a 22 second load time in Sonar only. I actually work the for company as a tester and developer on the side. We missed the chance at getting a Sonar version for developers as they only release a few per version. So we were not able to remedy the load time issue. But other than that, once the plug loads, it's fantastic and gives you the choice of several amps as well as a press of a button to where the modern amps turn into plexi's. You have stomp boxes, rack effects, and all sorts of custom goodies you can do to really make this plug kick serious butt.
It's just the load time on that particular version that is a bit of a problem. Each instance you load will put an additional 22 seconds of load time per project load each time that project is loaded up. To me personally, it's worth the wait as no other guitar sim I've ever used gives me the sound or control that this one does.
They do have other versions. Shred is a good one...but don't let the name fool you. It has full control, great clean sounds, and is the same thing pretty much as Head Case...it just has a few different options and was abandoned in its beta stage. Now we have Head Case builder which is pretty cool. You can build your own head and do whatever you want with it. It saves as a .jpg and you can just drag and drop the picture into the head case builder and bang...you have an amp loaded up.
The owner, Ken has a site where people are sharing their amp builds. Visit acmebargig.com to get whatever software you need (if you go with headcase builder) and then go here to grab amps that are already created, drag and drop them in, and have fun.
http://www.virtualampstash.com/ The ABG stuff is definitely worth checking out though. Just don't let any of the names scare you. They have as good clean and vintage sounds as they do for the modern or more shred type guitarist. And most of all, they are free (for now) and I think you'll enjoy them. Good luck in whatever you decide. :)
-Danny